


Butterfly

by Polemokrateia



Category: Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: Gen, Mistletoe, Rebirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 11:06:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12210009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polemokrateia/pseuds/Polemokrateia
Summary: Baldr has unsettling dreams. Loki has an idea. Self-fulfilling prophecies are self-fulfilling.





	Butterfly

Golden autumn envelops Asgard without mercy.  
It`s inhabitants have little time for the surrounding fragile beauty, however. One god`s disquieting dreams suddenly cast a shadow over everything within those supposedly unassailable walls.  
No wall protects from fear.   
Thankfully, there is this little grove, and there is uncle Loki, who frequents this place (in?)as much as he can "frequent" any single place.  
Bright Baldr smiles, happy that the sly god is in his customary haunt, lazily feeding squirrels (are these not fat enough as it is?). Here is a being who  
is hardly one to join in the gloomfest. Odin`s child needs no more doomsaying, thank you very much. 

\- Hail, uncle, how was your journey? I was hoping to find you.  
\- Hail, Baldr. It`s good to not be disappointed, is it not? And yes, I do have a few tales to share. Utgardar are never boring.  
\- Do tell, do tell!  
\- Not until you regale me with your own.  
Pouting is useless when the Sly One is looking at you like a predator ready to pounce.  
\- Well, what do you know?  
\- Only that there is a commotion in the high halls, and the occasion is hardly happy.  
Were Baldr his uncle, he might have spun a grand story, dazzling the other god with pretty words enough to blind him to the truth. But he is who he is, so it is easier to just explain and get it over with.  
\- I have been having unpleasant dreams, you see. Neither of my parents believe those are just dreams, and I... shouldn`t have spoken of them, probably. It is worse when they all make so much of my fears.  
He wouldn`t have used the term with anyone else, but certainly Hvedrungr will is little inclined to judge   
Loki raises a sceptical eyebrow.  
\- Anything wrong in particular?   
\- I would not say so. Merely visions of a desolate and foreboding place, which seems to be calling for me.   
\- Damp, cold, perfect for a joyful feast?  
\- Probably not that last one, no - Baldr smiles wanly. - Is that Eiludnir? Father seems convinced it is.  
\- Might be. My daughter`s domain is pretty foreboding. And neither Odin nor Frigg would easily mistake an empty dream for one that has at least some meaning. But they might be giving it more weight than is due.   
\- I certainly hope so. Father is planning to consult some dead sorceress, whereas mother...  
\- What?  
\- She didn`t even share with father, but she thinks she might be able to make me invulnerable.  
\- How?  
\- By convincing anything that can possibly be dangerous to swear that they will cause me no harm. Metals, trees, animals, fire, water, poisons...   
At this, the sly god frowns.   
\- Sounds like a thorough approach. Add in Idunn`s apples - and you get immortality.  
\- Yes, if she succeeds I should probably be safe even if those dreams are true. But... is such an oath even possible?  
\- Frigg is very determined and knowledgeable. Give any other overprotective mother her skill - and she is bound to fail. If it`s for you, though... a   
feat, but an achieveable one.  
Odin`s child wonders whether being popular among bushes and stones is something to be happy about. All those countless tiny spirits - why would they agree to something so far-fetched?  
\- In that case, she shouldn`t have kept it a secret. Knowing of her plans might have reassured everyone, and this mess would sort itself out.  
\- Would it, now?   
\- Why not?  
\- The world doesn`t have much in the way of unbreakable laws. Mostly it just offers strong suggestions, as many knowledgeable beings will tell you. Going against those is trouble, but wouldn`t break reality. What Frigg is planning, on the other hand...   
\- Would, in fact, break reality.   
Loki frowns again, this time genuinely unnerved. He nods, paying more attention to a butterfly resting on the younger god`s sleeve than is warranted.  
\- Likely. We are not talking about what your father set in place after the murder of Ymir. Principles much more fundamental, primal are involved. Now, if she finishes what she began... trolls take all those self-fulfilling prophecies!  
\- Self-fulfilling?  
\- The worst kind, really. Consider: whether your dreams meant anyting or not is irrelevant. The aesir are just a step from kicking down the pebble that   
will begin the avalanche of an epoch. Now, the question is, - and Hvedrungr`s malachite eyes momentarily flash like two suns. - Can an avalanche of such proportions be ridden?  
\- What do you mean - ridden?  
\- Do you really want to know?  
Baldr considers the trickster's question, his own worries - and reaches a decision.  
\- No. I don`t really trust my own judgement in this.   
\- But you trust the judgement of others.   
\- Not entirely. No being is free of failings. But I am evidently not in the right state of mind for all this. I am just not ready.   
\- It is impossible to be ready.   
Is that the same butterfly, or do they just like the bright god`s blue tunic?   
It`s so easy to get two insects confused when you are not one of them yourself.   
\- How do mortals deal with this, uncle?  
\- Tell me, what is the life expectancy of a butterfly?  
\- About a month, but some live for several, while others last for mere weeks.  
\- More or less. Whereas that of a dog is ten whole years. Horses can hope for more. A human or a raven have about a century. Some trees live thousands of years - a bit more relateable for us gods, but even divinity is finite. So - how does the pretty little creature on your shoulder "deal with this"?   
Just like all the others. It lives.  
Odin`s child would have liked to hear a different speech. This one smelled like Eiludnir.   
\- If this is not too forvard... What is your daughter like?  
\- Intelligent. Morbid sense of humor. Great at hnefatafl.  
\- Sounds easy enough to get along with.  
He expects either halfhearted reassurances or confirmation of his own suspicions. What he gets instead is...  
The determined gaze of a jotunn ready to ride the avalanche of an epoch and take him along for the trip.  
\- Nephew, have you ever wondered what the new world will look like after this one burns?   
His crooked smile is asking: "Would you like to find out?"  
Baldr tells himself it is too late to look back. Seeing the world renewed is tempting.  
Besides, Hel is great at hnefatafl. Who would pass up such an acquaintance?  
Naturally, a butterfly fears no avalanche. And if chrysalis is disturbingly similar to death... it`s still temporary, is it not?  
They might both be patently insane. Fair enough.  
But Loki`s brand of insanity can sometimes make even a broken world work.


End file.
